ENGLISH COMPANY SCHOOL (EARLY-MID 19TH CENTURY)
Panoramic view of the Indian city of Lucknow from the Gomti river
titled (verso)
gouache
24 x 53.5 cm

The present work draws parallels with a painted scroll dating from 1826, part of the Paul Mellon Collection, in the Rare Books and Manuscripts section of the Yale Centre for British Art. The idyllic scene depicts the city of Lucknow, India, as it was in its heyday in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Most of the buildings in the near-topographical view have since disappeared. Some could be still identified like the octagonal pavilion on water, the constructions incorporated into the Bara Chattar Manzil Palace, and the former home of the French businessman Claude Martin.

The Sepoy Rebellion in 1857 led to a rapid decline in Lucknow's prosperity. Prior to this time, many British individuals chose to settle in the city including several landscape painters who then went on to set up local Company Painting schools which produced views such as this one, typically marketed to the Western audience.

Provenance: Thierry de Maigret Auction House, Paris, France, 30 March 2012, lot 142.